Comet Lulin visual obs.

Before going to bed last night I set up a pair of 25x100 binoculars on
tripod and mount on my south porch (I knew I wouldn't feel up to
setting things up in the morning:-) Lens covers were left on. A
large plastic garbage bag added additional protection from the
inevitable frost.

Around 5:15am I got up. My thermometer read minus eleven degrees
Fahrenheit. I was unable to see the comet with the unaided eye, but
it was easily spotted with 8x42 binoculars.

I uncovered, uncapped, and trained the 25x100s on Comet Lulin. The
comet looked like your typical, round, fuzzball with a gradually
brighter center. I made a sketch (not uploaded anywhere yet -- too
many other things to do . . .) I estimated the visible coma diameter
to be about 8 arcminutes.

My NELM (near Polaris) was about 6.5. The NELM near the comet was a
bit less due to the comet's lower elevation above my south horizon.

Comet Lulin isn't all that impressive with binoculars -- not yet
anyway. At some future date I'll most likely train a telescope on the
approaching fuzzball. . .

Bill Greer
To sketch is to see.

wrote:

Before going to bed last night I set up a pair of 25x100 binoculars on
tripod and mount on my south porch (I knew I wouldn't feel up to
setting things up in the morning:-) Lens covers were left on. A
large plastic garbage bag added additional protection from the
inevitable frost.

Around 5:15am I got up. My thermometer read minus eleven degrees
Fahrenheit. I was unable to see the comet with the unaided eye, but
it was easily spotted with 8x42 binoculars.

I uncovered, uncapped, and trained the 25x100s on Comet Lulin. The
comet looked like your typical, round, fuzzball with a gradually
brighter center. I made a sketch (not uploaded anywhere yet -- too
many other things to do . . .) I estimated the visible coma diameter
to be about 8 arcminutes.

My NELM (near Polaris) was about 6.5. The NELM near the comet was a
bit less due to the comet's lower elevation above my south horizon.

Comet Lulin isn't all that impressive with binoculars -- not yet
anyway. At some future date I'll most likely train a telescope on the
approaching fuzzball. . .

Bill Greer
To sketch is to see.

Good report, but it might be a bit more useful if one knew your
location, or approximate location. Your NELM (compared to my location
in Maryland) tells me that you could be atop Everest, or in
Antarctica, maybe Mauna Kea, Cerro Tololo, Canaries, perhaps. Good for
you!

No hint of a tail, I take it?

Thanks,

Davoud

--
Sell GM for scrap metal. The country will recover and be better in the long run
without an anti-technology lobby to drag us down.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:09:09 GMT, Davoud wrote:

Good report, but it might be a bit more useful if one knew your
location, or approximate location.

Bill's up in Montana.
_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

Davoud:
Good report, but it might be a bit more useful if one knew your
location, or approximate location.

Chris L Peterson:
Bill's up in Montana.

OK. I mentioned Antarctica and Everest as possibilities. Close enough;
anything finer would be slicing it too thin.

Davoud

--
Sell GM for scrap metal. The country will recover and be better in the long run
without an anti-technology lobby to drag us down.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

On Jan 27, 10:09 am, Davoud wrote:
wrote:
Before going to bed last night I set up a pair of 25x100 binoculars on
tripod and mount on my south porch (I knew I wouldn't feel up to
setting things up in the morning:-) Lens covers were left on. A
large plastic garbage bag added additional protection from the
inevitable frost.

Around 5:15am I got up. My thermometer read minus eleven degrees
Fahrenheit. I was unable to see the comet with the unaided eye, but
it was easily spotted with 8x42 binoculars.

I uncovered, uncapped, and trained the 25x100s on Comet Lulin. The
comet looked like your typical, round, fuzzball with a gradually
brighter center. I made a sketch (not uploaded anywhere yet -- too
many other things to do . . .) I estimated the visible coma diameter
to be about 8 arcminutes.

My NELM (near Polaris) was about 6.5. The NELM near the comet was a
bit less due to the comet's lower elevation above my south horizon.

Comet Lulin isn't all that impressive with binoculars -- not yet
anyway. At some future date I'll most likely train a telescope on the
approaching fuzzball. . .

Bill Greer
To sketch is to see.

Good report, but it might be a bit more useful if one knew your
location, or approximate location. Your NELM (compared to my location
in Maryland) tells me that you could be atop Everest, or in
Antarctica, maybe Mauna Kea, Cerro Tololo, Canaries, perhaps. Good for
you!


Since the OP mentioned Polaris, I think you could eliminate Cerro
Tololo and Antarctica from your list.

On Jan 27, 8:09*am, Davoud wrote:

Good report, but it might be a bit more useful if one knew your
location, or approximate location. Your NELM (compared to my location
in Maryland) tells me that *you could be atop Everest, or in
Antarctica, maybe Mauna Kea, Cerro Tololo, Canaries, perhaps. Good for
you!

As Chris correctly responded, I'm in Montana.

No hint of a tail, I take it?

Correct. I saw no hint of a tail.

Bill Greer
To sketch is to see.

Davoud:
Good report, but it might be a bit more useful if one knew your
location, or approximate location. Your NELM (compared to my location
in Maryland) tells me that you could be atop Everest, or in
Antarctica, maybe Mauna Kea, Cerro Tololo, Canaries, perhaps. Good for
you!

:
Since the OP mentioned Polaris, I think you could eliminate Cerro
Tololo and Antarctica from your list.

You didn't take that literally!?

Davoud

--
Sell GM for scrap metal. The country will recover and be better in the long run
without an anti-technology lobby to drag us down.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

wrote in message
...
On Jan 27, 8:09 am, Davoud wrote:

Good report, but it might be a bit more useful if one knew your
location, or approximate location. Your NELM (compared to my location
in Maryland) tells me that you could be atop Everest, or in
Antarctica, maybe Mauna Kea, Cerro Tololo, Canaries, perhaps. Good for
you!

As Chris correctly responded, I'm in Montana.

No hint of a tail, I take it?

Correct. I saw no hint of a tail.

A Phil Harrington SLOOH podcast that I listened to today indicated that
later you should be able to see two tails, your regulation one at the rear
and another one at the head, due to its motion with respect to the sun.

On Jan 27, 7:39 pm, Davoud wrote:
Davoud:

Good report, but it might be a bit more useful if one knew your
location, or approximate location. Your NELM (compared to my location
in Maryland) tells me that you could be atop Everest, or in
Antarctica, maybe Mauna Kea, Cerro Tololo, Canaries, perhaps. Good for
you!

:

Since the OP mentioned Polaris, I think you could eliminate Cerro
Tololo and Antarctica from your list.

You didn't take that literally!?

I must have missed the humor. Of course I could have also pointed out
that Antarctica is in 24-hour daylight this time of year.